


Like a Father

by arinn



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Angst, Fluff, M/M, Mikasa and Isabel are children, Mutual Pining, POV Eren Yeager, Single Fathers AU, Slice of Life, Slow Build, ill be tagging it as it goes, in some chapters but overall its very fluffy, rating might change in the future
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-03
Updated: 2015-10-15
Packaged: 2018-04-12 18:04:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4489449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arinn/pseuds/arinn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>With Isabel's new promising friendship with her kindegarten mate Mikasa, single father Eren has a run in with single father Levi. The mutual pining is strong after that.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Spark Between Them.

**Author's Note:**

> Whoop, this is my first multi-chaptered fic in a while, and the first ever in the SNK fandom! It was actually supposed to be a oneshot but then I changed my mind. This will not have a strict plot other than Levi and Eren falling in love and even a few chapters of their life together. I admit, I'm not completely certain of where I'm going, but I'm really excited!
> 
> Important note: I decided not write out kid's speech with Mikasa and Isabel because 1) english is not my first language, so I'm not familiar with how kids talk and 2) I thought it might hinder the reading, so I opted out. That said, I'll still try to keep their conversation childish. (I researched a bit ^^)
> 
> Enjoy! c:

Although already living here for more than three months, the new city still confuses Eren a bit. For the most part, all the streets look the same, especially when driving through the inner part of the city when all blurry gray buildings line up like walls. He quickly gets to the nearest supermarket, parking on the lot on the street below. 

"C'mon." He said unbuckling his daughter's babyseat belt. 

"Dad, can we get ice cream?" 

"You know that's only on weekends." He gathered her in his arms, closing the door while she whined on his ear. 

Isabel is five years old ('going six!' according to hers truly) and absolutely adorable. Eren is not vain on most things, but he thanks genetics a lot for her having inherited his bright green eyes. 'Well, among other characteristics' he thinks because Isabel mostly took after him, the button like nose and heart shaped face. The resemblance is uncanny but during heated conversations when Isabel gesticulates and smiles wide, Eren _swears_ he can see her mother. 

He's an statistic outlier and he knows it; single fathers are rare and most of all gay single fathers. It was a hard time during high school when he wanted so bad to fit in, to feel normal. Many days passed with fake smiles and kisses and make out sessions, while during the night the agonizing self doubt would eat at him. Still, he had a girlfriend and they were considered high school sweethearts. Two weeks later after a night gone wrong, the news of pregnancy reached him like a bomb. The same day that he told her the truth about him. It had not ended well.

"Let's go!" Isabel marched holding his hand securely, her father trailing behind. 

"Ok, ok! Wait, let me get the cart." 

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Spark, which cookies do you want?" 

"The strawberry ones!" She replied, trailing behind him hand closing on his pants. 

"Strawberry it is." 

Eren can't help but marvel at how much quiet this town is, even though they're right in the center. Back at home, it was much harder to concentrate with the constant sounds of cars passing through. They reach the hygiene aisle, picking a toothpaste for him and the special spongebob one for Isabel. It was a bit more expensive, but nothing that would harm in the long way. Whistling a bit, he also got a new shampoo for they were running low. He debated for a bit, holding two different types of soap. 

"Spark, do you want Roses or Jasmine?" Their neighbor had both of them planted at his house, so hopefully she would remember which flowers he meant. 

"Isabel?" He asked again when there was no answer, turning slightly to look behind him and-

She wasn't there. 

He felt a cold chill run through his spine. 

"Isabel!" He exclaimed desperately, abandoning his cart and and running to another aisle. 

He searched crying out her name, a concerned frown making it's way on his face. A few nearby customers noticed his distressed calling and started looking around for a lost child as well. 

Eren was fully teary-eyed when he finally noticed an almost-red head chirping excitedly on the cleaning aisle (very close to the hygiene one too, _God_ he should have checked here before). He hurried towards her and finally noticed the stranger answering to his daughter, rage coursing through him. If that man even dared... 

"Isabel!" He reached her, pulling her small body quickly behind him while glaring at the other man. He barely managed to notice his raised eyebrow before turning and hugging her close. "God, Spark! What were you thinking? Didn't I ever told you not talk to strangers?!" 

"But daddy, mister Levi is not a stranger." Isabel looked confused and kept darting her look between him and the apparently 'mister Levi'. 

"Excuse me?" The stranger suddenly talked, and Eren stood up tall, wondering where the hell did this guy knew her daughter from and if he could be considered a threat. He was very short, a lot shorter than Eren, but he could see this Levi had some muscle on him. 'Could I take him in a fight? Should I just call the police?' "I'm Levi Ackerman. My daughter Mikasa and Isabel go to the same kinder." 

"Oh" a small shuffle behind Levi revealed a small black haired girl hiding and holding onto her dad's pants like a lifeline. _"Oh."_

"Yeah. Isabel, came to us because she saw me passing by, right?" 

"Yeah, dad, don't need to be worry!" She stood proudly, glad to have an adult stand up for her. 

"Don't think you're off the hook, young lady!" He crouched down after glancing quickly at Mikasa. "What you did was very dangerous! Next time _tell_ me and we can meet the person you saw together, ok?" 

She puffed her slightly red cheeks "Ok, I get it..." 

"Good." Eren stood up again, now regarding the other father. "Sorry for that, Levi. I'm Eren." He went to shook his hand when it came to his attention he was still holding the two soaps. Now melted with finger indents. "Guess I'm gonna have to get both now..." he muttered to himself, embarrassed. 

"It's no problem, really." Levi said, looking at Mikasa with a small smile. "I'd probably be very worried too." He nudged her slightly. "Won't you introduce yourself?" 

The smallest girl quietly shook her head, her wide eyes regarding Eren minutely. 

"Dad, you scared her!" Isabel exclaimed. 

"Sorry, Mikasa. I promise you I'm a nice guy." He kneeled in front of her reaching and securing her loose red scarf more tightly around her frame. He delighted himself when he saw the tiny smile she gave him. 

"She's a bit shy." Levi complemented. 

"It's fine. I should- yeah I should probably get back to my cart." He laughed nervously. "C'mon Sparkie, say bye to your friend." 

"Daaaaaad, can't we play a bit?" She pouted, using her puppy eyes. 

"Nah, let's leave mister Levi alone, ok? Didn't you bother him enough?" 

Mikasa chose that time to quickly pull on Levi's pants, until the other crouched down and offered his ear to her. "Mhm. Ok." He stood up and leaned towards Eren. "Mikasa was wondering if Isabel can sleep over today." 

"Unfortunately we already have something going on tonight, right?" He looked over. Wednesday was their official Disney night, and Isabel never missed it. The brown haired girl nodded looking a bit disappointed. "You wanna cancel, Sparkie? You can sleep over on Saturday if it's alright?" He said that last part glancing at Levi. 

"Fine with us." 

"Saturday!" She yelled, much more content with that new decision. 

"Ok. Goodbye, Levi. Sorry again." He said, shuffling a bit. 

"I already told you it's fine." 

"See you tomorrow, Isabel." Mikasa whispered, such a small voice he almost didn't heard it. 

"Bye! Now let's go, dad! I want get ice cream!" 

She started pulling him again, striding while swinging her other arm. Eren looked back at the pair and found Levi looking at him. He waved watching the other's small smile. He discreetly stared at this new acquaintance. Blue-gray eyes under what seemed to be a perpetual frown. Very handsome, though. He smiled and let himself be pulled towards the frozen meals. 

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

It was the beginning of many encounters after that. 

They first saw each other again on the same day in the cashier corridor. He laughed a bit while Levi snorted, their daughters conversing animatedly over the coincidence. After that, they saw each other at the kinder on Friday, when Eren learned that he hadn't seen Levi before because he was always a bit too late when getting Isabel He obviously didn't like being late, but work is work and when you're a single father, you can never neglect the thing that pays the bills. In that particular day, Levi waited around and made small talk when he finally got there. Then again on Saturday, when he left Isabel at their house. 

He couldn't deny he was a little attracted to Levi. The guy had the looks and, most importantly, no golden band around his ring finger. Isabel seemed to like him very much too. The day after the sleepover, she kept mentioning how good Levi cooks (ignoring the small 'hey!' of protest from Eren himself) and how he let them play fifteen minutes more than the usual sleeping curfew. 

"Have him as your father, then." He muttered over a coffee cup. 

"Ah! He made me clean all the toys after playing, that was real boring!" She pouted while moving her rice with the spoon. The steak and the tomatoes were gone, but Isabel never liked rice. 

"Well, you always have to clean after playing. You do that here too, so I don't see the problem." 

"Yeah!" She exclaimed loudly, accidentaly knocking down her napkin. "But at Sasha's house her mom always clean for us!" 

"Careful, Sparkie." He handed her another napkin. "That's rude. Next time you go there, I want you to help her mom clean, ok?" 

"Ugh!" She slammed her head on the table. 

"If you don't like cleaning, what makes you think her mom do? She probably doesn't like it either, but she cleans anyway because you two won't. It's your responsibility to clean after yourself." 

A small grumble was heard which sounded quietly like 'that's a big word.' and Eren smiled while petting her hair. 

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Fancy seeing you here." He sneaks in on Levi in the same cleaning aisle they met two weeks ago. Both Mikasa and Isabel were at a classmate's birthday party. He was very proud at how prettily he managed Isabel's ponytails and sneaked two or three pictures to gush about before she could complain. 

"Hello, Eren." He said absentmindedly, seeming very focused on the two bottle of toilet cleaners on his hand. "Would you get lilac lavender or smooth lemon?" 

"Uh." That was... out of nowhere. He scratched the back of his neck. 

"I know what you're thinking. Both these products have the same cleaning effectiveness, but the lemon smell lasts longer." 

"Uhh?" He wondered how did one measure the cleaning effect of those products 'What exactly is the criteria here?' 

Levi pondered for another minute. "Ah, freak it. I love lavender." He said, finally putting the bottle inside his basket. 

"Freak it?" At that, Eren smiled. It was cute. 

"I had to learn not to swear in front of Mikasa." He looked at him with a deadpan. "It was hard." 

Eren giggled feeling a small bit of affection blooming in him.


	2. Familiarity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Thank you all for the comments, kudos, bookmarks and subscriptions! You're all awesome!!  
> I add a few tags, you guys should check it out. I hope this chapter doesn't appear too fast, this story is definitely a  
> slow build.
> 
> Enjoy!

There was a peaceful routine and Eren wasn't complaining.

Isabel quickly became attached to Mikasa. They walked joined by the hips and spent lots of time together, be it on the kindergarten or anywhere else. On Saturdays, either of them would be found in each other's house. Eren was very fond at seeing them play together and whisper hushed secrets apparently very important and complicated for them 5 year olds. Before sleeping they would watch some animation and by the time lights out arrived, they were both leaning heavily on each other, Isabel's mouth wide open with a bit of drool on Mikasa's shoulder. It was all too endearing and Eren had to hold squeals back when cradling both on his sides.

So on weekends there were sleepovers or just playdates at the nearby park and on the middle of the week by Tuesday or Wednesday in the late afternoon, Eren met with Levi at the supermarket. They never planned or set up any date or hour, but by now it was an unspoken agreement they'd meet. He would never admit, but seeing the older man fussing over cleaning products and which tea brand was more appetizing was funny and cute at the same time.

He pulled over at the side of Trost park, watching Isabel fidget from the rearview mirror. That Saturday was sunny but a small breeze drifted through the leaves making a perfect day for relaxing outside.

"I can see Mikasa at the fountain!" Her hands shook excitedly trying to unbuckle her seatbelt.

They reached the pair, Mikasa greedily licking a chocolate sundae while her father crossed his arms.

"Tsk, took too long." He muttered, already heading towards a bench near the swings while the two girls talked energetically, betting a race 'til the seesaw.

"Sorry, Isabel wanted to stop at a pet shop to look at the puppies." He said, sitting down next to Levi, smiling anxiously.

"Hm."

They watched over the girls, an uncomfortable silence weighing in the air, or at least for Eren it was. He wanted to know more about Levi especially with their daughters practically being best friends nowadays.

"So, er-" He squirmed in his seat. "What, um, what exactly do you do?"

"There's no need to be so awkward, I'm not gonna bite your head off."

A nervous laughed bubbled up in his throat before he coughed it off. "Sorry... You just have this... Um."

"Expressionless glare? Assholeish personality?"

"I was gonna say unapproachable aura." Eren grinned, leaning towards him.

"Ah? Not so bad." Levi gave a small smirk and nudged Eren's knee with his own. A heavy blush settled on his ears, and he briskly averted his gaze.

"Still haven't answered."

"I'm an assistant at the HR department at Survey."

"Seriously?" He asked surprised. "That is... very you somehow."

"I'll have you know I majored in psychology."

"No way..." Eren trailed dumbfounded. Now he knew the other man had gone to college, such opportunity himself didn't have. "Why organizational psychology? Why not work on a clinic?"

Levi shrugged "It was the best offer in the moment and... Well, I needed the money as you probably already know the feeling. What about you?"

The shrill sound of laughter echoed around the park and both smiled slightly at the two girls running around. Mikasa had a very high-spirited smile and warmth twinkling in her eyes. It looked like a rare sight.

"I'm just a dentist's secretary." Eren mentioned abashed. It's not like he's ashamed of his work, but sometimes he wished he could have pursued his dreams, cheesy as it is. Levi gave him a weird look, before looking back at their daughters on the slide.

"Hm. Sounds awful having to deal with people all the time."

Eren gaped at him. "You work at a HR department, you jerk!" He laughed, punching the other's shoulder lightly.

He scoffed. "Fortunately behind the scenes. I just look at files, mostly. No need to deal with stuck up noses or grubby teenagers."

"I can just imagine your change of heart when Mikasa grow up, then." Eren teased, raising a brow.

"Excuse you, my daughter won't be grubby or greased for that fact." he raised his jaw conceitedly.

"Heh." Eren leaned back on the bench, head pressed against the uncomfortable wood, one hand coming up to mess his hair.

"Ugh, can't believe I let you make me talk about work on a Saturday." Levi leaned back as well and Eren was suddenly breathless.

The other had a small smile glancing his features and a lazy look to him making him appear much younger. The slope of his neck was enticing and when Levi nudged his knee again, a small shiver left his arm hair up.

Levi's eyes shifted to his lips and a surge to lean forward smashing them together made his fingers twitch. He wanted to see those hooded eyes up close and grab the collar of his shirt and make a mess of that perfectly put together appearance.

Most of all, the raven haired man's shoulders were loose and those silky locks haloed by the trees' green around them painted the whole picture astounding.

"Eren..." He uttered.

They were interrupted by a scream.

Both immediately jumped up and ran towards their little girls.

"What happened?!" Eren exclaimed when he got close enough to the scene. Isabel was sitting next to the slide, holding her knees while wailing loudly. Her face was stained with snot and tears, and knees bloodied and scraped.

"She tried sliding while standing. I tried to tell it was a bad idea. I'm sorry, mister Eren." Mikasa cried dramatically, sniffling her own tears down. She didn't appear hurt, though.

"It's not your fault, Mikasa." Eren quickly reassured her. He took Isabel in his arms, putting them face to face. "C'mon Sparkie, that wasn't anything! Didn't you want to be like Merida? She's probably scrapped her knees many times too." She hiccupped, while he cleaned her snot on his sleeves. "See? That ain't anything. Just a small warrior injury." He twirled her around and softly and slowly the sobs stopped. Levi stood behind him, smiling at the scene while caressing Mikasa's long hair.

Eren hold her with one arm, tickling her armpits with the other. Her laughter sounded like bells and his concern diminished by looking at that wide grin.

"Ok, daddy! Put me down!" She exclaimed, smiling through glassed eyes.

"I think that's enough for today, right? Let's go home and clean your knees." He pulled her by her trembling hand, squeezing in reassurance.

"Bye, Mikasa."

"Goodbye, take care." They hugged each other tightly before separating.

"See you, Levi." Eren smiled while waving.

He saw the other grimacing and swiftly put his snot stained sleeve back down, cheeks turning red.

They turned and strolled back to the car. As Isabel brightened once again, Eren couldn't help but sigh and mourn over the lost moment he had with Levi.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The memories of Levi's pale neck still plagued his thoughts when Saturday came again. Their encounter during the week had been uneventful and his mood was a bit down, although he knew it was an overreaction; thus it was a wonderful surprise when Levi proposed he come in when he left Isabel at their house.

"Take your shoes off at the door."

Levi's house wasn't big nor was it small but it was spacious. The light blue walls were bared of any type of ornament save for a small drawing obviously made by Mikasa stuck next to the kitchen door. In it, two figures, one taller than the other were holding hands under a smiling sun. It made him wonder about Mikasa's mom. There was no mother figure in the drawing. Eren looked around. All in all, Levi's house was very empty and clean, almost to the point of sterile. He couldn't help but frown. It was... a little sad.

Isabel and Mikasa quickly took off to the black haired girl's room, a white sleek door in the end of the corridor.

"Do you want some tea?"

"Hm? Ah yeah, sure."

They entered the kitchen, nothing extraordinaire. The only thing that called attention was the amount of post-its pasted on the refrigerator. One in particular, hot pink stood against the lime yellow ones. The messy hand-writing flashed 'Call Me! - Hanji' and Eren quickly averted his eyes. It looked personal.

Levi stood up by the sink, filling the kettle while he took a place by the counter. The afternoon sun was already setting and it casted a soothing light around.

"This place is very comfortable." He mentioned, trying to fill the silence.

"I think so too. We managed to get it with a huge discount, actually."

"Yeah?" 

"Mhm. No one wanted to buy since the last family was murdered here."

"What?!" He choked on saliva as Levi put a steaming mug in front of him, deadpan in place.

"Holy shoot, you're so easy."

"Hardy har." He grumbled, taking a sip of what seemed to be apple tea. 'It's sweet'. "Still" he coughed "discount or not, It's amazing you managed such a good house when you're young."

Levi raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

The other leaned over the counter, bracing himself on his elbows. "Tell me, Eren." He started suggestively "How old do you think I am, exactly?" He smirked, tilting his jaw forward.

"Uh, well." Eren's cheeks reddened slightly. "I mean, you can't be- You're twenty six or... something. Right?"

The mirth on Levi's eyes was evident. "Twenty six? Hm, I wonder..."

"Aw, c'mon!" He groaned, stroking his hair. "Stop teasing me and say it!"

"I'm thirty two."

Eren's jaw fell open, a broken whine leaving from behind his throat.

"That's was a cute sound." Levi grinned smugly, taking the two mugs and leaving them on the sink.

"No way, you're shitting me, right?"

"No." He sighed. "I am in fact that old. Sorry to disappoint."

"No! I mean, you're no... disappointment- at all, ah. It's just that you're so... so-"

Levi leans in again, this time much closer. Their faces become just inches apart and it's hard for Eren to concentrate when he can count Levi's eyelashes and notice it flutter against his cheeks. Levi's breath brushes against his cheek and he has to bite hard on his tongue so he won't do something stupid. Like kiss him.

"So... What?"

He gaped, opening and closing his mouth, feeling his cheeks more warm by the second. What could he say? 'You're really hot and attractive therefore my hopeless young adult dick hoped for a small age gap so when asking for a one (or maybe two) night stand wouldn't get weird'? I don't think so. He quickly sat by the table shoving his red face on his hands.

Levi snickered.

"Ten years apart, then..." he whispered, a little horrified if he was being honest, but at the same time it could be worse. They could have been 19 years apart, Eren reasoned. It wasn't _so_ bad.

"You're the one young father here, brat." He said the word teasingly, looking at Eren over his shoulder while he washed the few dishes. "I'm going to start dinner. Should I put four plates?"

"If that's okay."

"I wouldn't be asking if it wasn't." He rolled his eyes.

They stood quietly for awhile, only the sounds of water running filling the room when Isabel busted through the door.

"Dad! We need you!"

"What's wrong?"

"We need someone to be the titan!" She said quickly pulling on his sleeve. "C'mon, you're the more tall of us! Levi isn't good!"

He laughed hard at that, hearing a disgruntled 'Well I'm sorry for freaking genetics' from the other man. He followed Isabel grinning the whole way to the white door in the end of the corridor.

Mikasa's room was definitely different from the rest of the house. The walls were painted a pastel green, with one of them having a forest mural that took up the whole wall. The furniture was white and there were lots of shelves and boxes full to what seemed to be toys and different infant books, everything organized. Although it was still very clean, this certainly looked lived and home-y, especially with the few tips here and there; a small picture frame on the nightstand, stuffed animals laying unordered by the bed, a small flower vase near the window.

"Careful! You're gonna step on the so-solders!"

"You mean soldiers." Mikasa's small voice intervened.

"Dad, it's like this. You have to try to step in the city and me and Mikasa will stop you! Then you try to get us but we're gonna hit you with our swords!" She waved a long fairy wand around and Eren made a mental note to buy some plastic swords next time he went to the thrift shop. "And then you have to die." She said seriously.

"Oh, wow. Isn't that a bit harsh?"

"Go, my solders!" Isabel screamed at full volume and he winced.

Eren then pretended to step around and growled exaggeratedly, both Mikasa and Isabel circling around him as if they were actually trained assassins. Eren reached for Isabel hands but she quickly dodged and jumped back.

"Mikasa! You get him from the back, I'll distract!"

He wondered how could that plan work out if they were screaming it at the monster. Isabel headed towards him and jumped left and right yelling 'You can't catch me, titan!'. He noticed Mikasa stealthily reaching for his nape with the wand and he bolted to the side while catching her small arm. He gathered her in his hands and raised her high in the air while growling.

"Argh! I'm going to eat you!"

"No!" She screamed realistically.

"I'll save you!" Isabel rushed towards them and started beating his thigh with the wand.

"I'm still going to eat her!" He teased in a sing-song voice, lowering Mikasa towards him. He tickled her belly when she started squirming, a loud laughter echoing in the room.

"No, dad!" Isabel whined as she gave the wand up and started punching him weakly. "You have to die!"

Eren was in the process of reaching for Isabel when he noticed the figure leaning on the door still. Levi was standing there watching the scene with a fond smile. He lowered Mikasa on the bed and puffed a 'what?' panting after all their playing.

"Dinner is ready."

"Yeah! Levi's good food!" He saw his daughter and Mikasa head towards the kitchen, stepping aside Levi, but the other man didn't move.

"What?" He asked again, his breathing returning to normal.

He stared at Eren for a few seconds before shaking his head, fond smile still in place and turned around.

They ate the spaghetti Levi made. Not a really fancy dish, but Eren had to admit that it was delicious and Isabel wasn't joking about the other man's cooking. They finished eating and drank more tea, the girls quickly rushing back to the room, quiet laughter echoing around. It was near 9 p.m. when Eren finally decided it was time to go home, his visit far more extended than he expected.

"Thank you for the dinner." He mentioned while putting his shoes on, at the hall.

"It was no problem."

"I'll come take Isabel tomorrow."

"Mhm." Levi said, while opening the door to him. "Goodbye, Eren."

"Bye!" He exclaimed grinning and ran to his car.

When he finally sat down, he slumped tiredly against the wheel. A long breath in, a long breath out. He started the car and drove home with a light heart.


	3. Turnip Your Insecurities.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, sorry for the long wait! College was being awful.
> 
> Thank you for the kudos, comments and bookmarks. <3 Enjoy!

Although Eren never managed to go to college, he never did abandon his studies. When he was a small kid he used to sit in the garden back in his parents' house with his best friend Armin and awe about the different wonders in the world, in every country. Different languages and different cultures, all of that amazed the two kids to the point they promised they would travel around the globe meeting new people and gathering live experiences. 

Of course, that was all before he was surprised with that small bundle of joy that was Isabel. The circumstances behind her conception were... unusual and Eren couldn't lie; he was stuck in a deep depression during her mother's pregnancy and Isabel's first months of life. He could only just imagine how Isabel's mother... 

No. He wasn't about to enter that train of thought _ever_ again. 

He finally picked up his books about languages and tourists guides for the first time since he and Isabel moved in four months ago which sparked his memories about his child self's dreams and ambitions. Just because he didn't manage to go to college, didn't mean he would be stuck in place, forever working sad and retail jobs, forever speculating about how would it be to travel places and cities. 

Whenever he found the time, Eren would try out new languages. Currently, he was stuck figuring out different tenses in French, this and European Portuguese being the hard languages he was learning by himself. He already had German and European Spanish under his belt, with the help of his father. He was lucky Portuguese and Spanish were so similar, many words and the general rules of the language being the practically the same. 

"J-j'avais aimé-" He muttered, his pronunciation rough and his tongue close tight. Most Latin based languages demanded an opened gesticulation of the mouth, completely different from English and German. He upped the volume on his iPod, listening to the French words pouring out of it. 

"Je-Je étais parti de la ce-célébration." He tried out hesitantly. 

"Dad." 

"J'étais parti de la célébration." 

"Dad!" 

"What, Sparkie?" He said, finally taking his eyes off the book. 

"Let's play! I want you to be a titan again." 

"Not now, ok? Dad's studying." He turned back to the reading, muttering every few words out loud. 

Isabel puffed her cheeks, glaring at her father and stomping her feet. She didn't knew how studying could be fun - counting hour on the kinder was always monotonous - and why would her dad do that willingly? She pulled on his sleeves. "Dad, c'mon, that's boring!" 

"Sparkie, I'll play with you tomorrow. Tonight, daddy wants to study. Why don't you watch Brave? I'll put the dvd on for you." 

"Because I want to play." She whined loudly. 

"You can play here besides me, ok? But I won't play along." 

"Fine!" she sighed exasperatedly, picking her plastic sword and swinging it around, exclaiming against imaginary enemies. 

It was a bit harder to concentrate with his daughter besides him, but that didn't stop him. He was determined to be fluent in French by the end of the year, at least. He also had to train on his Spanish pronunciation, and the subjunctives still took a toll on him. He increased the volume once again sighing irritated when Isabel started getting more excited in her pretend game. 

"I killed you once and I'll kill you again, titan!" She pounced, slashing the air and making dramatic gestures. 

Eren wrote steadily a few footnotes when Isabel accidentally bumped into his shoulder, a straight line ruining the near words. "Careful." he mumbled, picking up an eraser. 

Isabel quickly whipped her sword again, pretending there was someone else there, but it just didn't feel fun. Her dad made the playing more magical. She slumped tiredly, glancing at her father. It just wasn't the same without another person. She stealthily sneaked up on him jumping onto his back, grinning. 

Problem is, Isabel chose to jump at the exact moment Eren reached for his coffee. 

"Argh!" He growled, the burning liquid spilling through his clothes and the pages of his book. 

Isabel quickly stepped back, cheeks turning red with shame. 

"Sparkie, go to your room." he said quietly, voice chilled. 

"Dad-" 

"Isabel, go!" 

She ran for the door, sniffling and holding back tears. She didn't meant to do that, she really didn't. 

Eren went to the kitchen and stuck his stinging forearm below the running sink. The cold water soothed the slight pain easily enough, but his fingers still trembled with contained anger. He didn't meant to lash out at Isabel like that, but he just couldn't hold it in. He always had anger management problems, but he could have swore it was getting better now. 

He leaned on the wall holding his face on his shaky hands, feeling a heated prickle behind his eyes. He felt like he was still a dumb emotional teenager. Hell, he _was_ still an emotional teenager, not matter who he tried to kid. He wasn't fit to be a father. The ruined text book laid ruined above the small center table. 

After a few more minutes trying to compose himself, he left towards Isabel's bedroom. He could hear the muffled crying from inside and his heart shattered. He knocked twice, listening for any other sound. 

"Sparkie can I come in?" 

She didn't answered, but Eren took it as a yes, opening the door very slowly trying to show he wasn't angry anymore, trying to sooth her. 

"Hey, baby." He sat besides her in the bed. 

Isabel was laying down holding onto one of her stuffed bunnies tightly, eyes red and nose stuffed. The blue pillow had water marks on it, very obviously in a face format. 

"I'm sorry, Isabel. I shouldn't have gotten angry at you." he ruffled her hair, caressing the red locks. Isabel just turned her head to the other side, picking the bunny's ears in nervosism. 

"I didn't meant to that to happen" she whispered "I just wanted to play." 

"Oh, sweetheart." Eren knew this was her small way to say she was feeling guilty. It was very hard for Isabel to admit she was wrong and she often used different words to protect her pride. "It wasn't your fault. I overreacted." 

"Does that mean you'll play from now on?" She looked up at him with big puppy eyes. He sighed. 

"Isabel, daddy really needs his studying. It's something I enjoy doing it, just like you enjoy slashing some titans." He smiled "I can't play with you all the time." 

"Ok..." she mumbled, sniffing and hugging him. 

He also hugged her, holding even a bit too tightly. He never wanted to make her upset for such a petty reason. the clock on the bedside table read 7 p.m. and he separated from her giving a small smile. 

"How about dinner now?" 

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

He saw Levi reaching the top shelf to get a detergent that Tuesday. He sneaked on the other man, reaching for the brand he wanted first and taking it away from his almost-there fingers. 

"What the heck, you-" He turned quickly, an angry scowl on his face when he noticed Eren there holding the bottle out for him. "What's with the cheeky smile?" He scoffed, taking the bottle aggressively. 

"Nothing at all" Eren said amusedly. They both started walking together, making a few stops along the way for when one of them needed anything. "Hey..." He hesitated. 

"What is it." the other man was holding a few apples, checking for bruises. 

"Have you ever... doubted your abilities as a father?" 

"All the time." Levi responded nonchalantly, picking a plastic bag for the fruits. He noticed the brunette staring expectantly at the other and sighed before turning fully towards him. "What happened?" 

"Ah, well..." Eren blushed a bit when he recalled the embarrassing incident with Isabel. "I had a small fight with Isabel the other day. It wasn't really a fight, actually... Anyway, I completely overreacted" He reached for some fruits himself, trying to avoid meeting Levi's gaze "I got angry for no reason and may have screamed at her to go to her room. And then I started thinking 'wow, I'm still a huge emotional wreck. I'm so young-" 

"Stop that." 

He turned abruptly to Levi, who was continuing on his way with a full cart. 

"We are humans, it's normal to make mistakes and sometimes exaggerate on common situations. It's normal to feel things. I bet you apologized to Isabel afterwards." He looked over at Eren for confirmation to which he nodded "You shouldn't doubt yourself over something so mundane." 

"Ah, but" He hurried to Levi's side "I just, when I was a teenager I had a lot of anger problems and I was always getting into fights. I don't want to ever get angry at Isabel like I did then" He shook his head with a small frown. "I'm just a bad father..." 

"Believe me, Eren, you're not a bad father at all." Levi looked at his eyes, face serious. "From the moment I saw you desperately searching for Isabel when we met and your poor embarrassing attempt to intimidate me" Eren scoffed, blushing a bit "I knew you weren't a bad father." His expression turned soft after that. 

Eren felt himself blushing more, thinking about the words. Levi was older than him and obviously more stable; emotionally, financially. And he said that so certain as if to say 'I know what I'm talking about'. He couldn't help but trust his words completely. 

The cashier coughed, trying to get their attention and they noticed they were next in line. 

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Pizza night!" Isabel screamed, running around the table excitedly. Eren could only smile at the display. 

"Hey, how about we call Mikasa and Levi?" He asked, already expecting Isabel to accept the offer. 

"Yes yes yes!" 

He pulled his cellphone and send a text asking if they were up for it. _We get there in ten minutes_ he received back. 

Eren sat down, smiling fondly at their friends coming. Levi had never entered Eren's house, maybe he should clean a bit. He swept the kitchen and the living room, tidying it up a few out of place clothes and papers. Isabel even helped, saying she wanted to make a good impression for him. In a few minutes the house was spotless and the doorbell rang just as he put away the broom. 

"I'll get it!" Isabel exclaimed, running to the door. 

"Hi." Mikasa said shyly, hugging her friend and Isabel was already pulling her towards her room. 

"Hello, Levi." Eren opened the door wilder, feeling a bit nervous. His house was small and a bit poorer compared to Levi's, but it was _his_. Even if his mother had helped him pay for it. There wasn't much space from the door to the living room and they were soon sitting at the couch. 

"Nice place you have." He couldn't tell if Levi was just being polite or if it was genuine. 

"Thanks. Pizza will get here in forty minutes. I hope you don't mind vegetarian?" 

"It's fine. You don't eat meat?" 

"I do, but I was craving some veggies." He grinned. 

Levi smiled slightly at that, slouching more into the couch. The sight of a relaxed Levi in his couch didn't bother Eren at all.

"What are you smiling at?" He asked, leaning closer.

"Just a joke I heard yesterday."

"Tell me." Eren said excitedly. It was a bit weird to have Levi tell him a joke. He was so stoic after all.

"Ok, ok. I was going to do a vegetables party" He paused "but I wasn't sure if anyone would _turnip_."

Levi snorted and covered his mouth while Eren stared at him confused.

"Wait, that's it? That's it? Holy shit, you're awful!" He laughed, picking a cushion and slamming against Levi's side, the other not saying anything but his shoulders were shaking. "Not only you make terrible jokes but you _laugh_ at them. Aren't you ashamed of yourself?"

He finally faced Eren, coughing a bit and deadpanned "My humor is shitty. Literally."

Eren grinned at that, leaning against the couch. They made a bit of small talk waiting for the food and Eren set the table. He called Mikasa and Isabel when the pizza finally got there, making them whine for having to stop playing. 

"Mikasa is sleeping here, you can play if you want afterwards." He said, pushing her shoulders. 

He ate in silence, the only sounds being of scraping forks and Isabel's heated tale telling. Levi looked genuinely interested in Isabel's story about a _gigantic_ (she had just learned that word earlier that week) gecko that appeared in their classroom during counting hour. He even teased her from time to time and asked questions and Eren couldn't help but smile at the completely sweet display. 

"The teacher let me hold, but it was cold and wetty!" She made a disgusted face before continuing "It was very cool. Mikasa didn't holded." 

"Thank God, that thing must be dirty." He remarked sending a pleased smile to Mikasa. 

Afterwards, Levi and he washed the dishes, and called the girls to watch a Pixar movie. Isabel was about to sit next to Mikasa when she stopped abruptly and looked from him to Levi and from Levi to him again. 

"What? Sit down so we can start, Sparkie." 

But she only narrowed her eyes and pulled Mikasa up with her. 

"Mikasa and I aren't going to watch. We going to play!" 

They both marched towards her room, Isabel harshly whispering something to Mikasa while doing so. 

"Huh." He looked towards Levi. "I don't know what got into her." 

Levi hummed, getting the remote "Don't mind me if I put something else then." He said, picking up a new movie. 

Eren stared surprised. He thought Levi would go home since the girls weren't going to participate. Levi turned to him and smiled a bit, before getting back at his task of finding something good. He had to cover his growing grin with his hand, heart beating faster, as he scooted over to sit next to the other. Their thighs weren't touching nor anything, but the closeness made Eren a bit giddy even so.


End file.
